The present technology relates to configuring a component of a computer system and, more particularly, to the storing of configuration information on an information card that is then used to configure a component of a publicly accessible computer system.
Computer users are becoming increasingly more dependent on access to the World Wide Web in conducting their personal and business affairs. This dependence is so great that these computer users find it imperative to take a laptop computer whenever they travel. With these laptop computers, the users can access the World Wide Web and their electronic mail so that they can effectively conduct their affairs. There are, however, difficulties with the use of such laptop computers. First, such laptop computers can be very expensive. Indeed, such laptop computers are much more expensive than a corresponding desktop computer with similar computing and storage resources. Second, although the laptop computers are portable, they can be very cumbersome to transport and use. For example, a user staying at a hotel may need to reconfigure a web browser to use new access telephone numbers and new access codes for the telephone system of a hotel. Such reconfiguration can be difficult for all but the most experienced computer user. Third, companies often provide laptop computers to their employees who are traveling. These laptop computers, however, are configured generically. An employee who uses such a generically configured laptop will find the laptop computer much more difficult to use than their desktop computer. For example, a user may have defined various bookmarks or a home page for their web browser on their desktop computer. The generically configured laptop computers, of course, would not have such bookmarks or home page defined. Fourth, a user may need access to the World Wide Web when the user may not have their laptop computer with them. For example, the user""s bank may provide a web site through which the user can review interest rates and principal and interest payments for auto loans, can review credit qualifications, and can submit a loan application. A user who is negotiating an auto purchase may be at a disadvantage if the user cannot access such a web site during the negotiations.
The configuration information that a user may become dependent on may include the addresses of incoming and outgoing electronic mail servers, the addresses of new services, the address book of an electronic mail system, bookmarks of a web browser, the home page of a web browser, the telephone numbers of an Internet service provider, various xe2x80x9ccookiesxe2x80x9d that have been stored on the user""s computer by a web server, and so on. It would be very time-consuming and cumbersome if a user was to manually record such configuration information and then manually reconfigure a laptop computer. It would be desirable to have technique which would allow users access to a computer system that is configured the same way as their desktop computer system is configured.
A method and system for initializing and distributing information cards that contain information for configuring a computer system are provided. In one embodiment, the information card contains configuration information relating to the configuration of a user""s computer. A card generating computer system generates the information cards with user-specific configuration information. The card generating computer system receives a request for an information card from a user of the computer and directs the execution of a transfer program at the user""s computer. That transfer program collects configuration information from the user""s computer and sends the collected configuration information back to the card generating computer system. The card generating computer system then stores the received configuration information on the information card. The information card is then sent to the user. The user can use the information card at a publicly accessible computer system to configure that computer system in a similar way to which the user""s computer system is configured. Alternatively, a user may generate such an information card if their computer has a device for storing information on the information card.
The publicly accessible computer may include an Internet connection, a information card reader, and a configuration manager. When the information card is provided to the publicly accessible computer system, the configuration manager reads the configuration information from the card. It then configures the various components in accordance with the configuration information. These components may include a web browser, an electronic mail system, and so on. The configuration information may include, for example, the home page of the web browser, bookmarks of the web browser, the electronic mail server address for the electronic mail system, electronic mail address book, or an IP address through which voice mail is accessible.